Taste of Cherry
by Scooterbug8515
Summary: Funny how one cherry sucker can bring so many memories and such is the case for one Minerva McGonagall as she is caused to relive some of the more tender moments in her life because of a gift of cherry suckers.
1. A Bouquet of Cherry

It had been a long and tiresome day for Minerva as she walked down the corridors toward her private quarters there in the castle. It had been one of those days where she could not seem to catch a break. She had a second year quite literally melt a tea cup in transfiguration, which took a good bit of spell work to clean up, then there was a whole issue with two students in her own house going at each other wand to wand over opposing quidditch teams. Minerva was certainly a fan of quidditch and was in stout support of the Tornadoes but she certainly was not going to hex a person for feeling that the Wingtown Wanders were better. She might have a few choice words on occasion but that was not the issue at hand. She was not only appalled that two students would go to wands over quidditch teams but that both students were from her own house. Thank Merlin they weren't in the same year or she would potentially have another case of James and Sirius when they were fighting for the brief stint they did. To think she was the one that pushed for them to get along.

Beyond all that, there was also an incident with Sybil having had a bit too much to drink and going after Frienze the centaur who taught as well. Nothing ill came of it as far as Frienze was concerned but Minerva had to fight with Sybil to get her back to the astronomy tower and confiscate the sherry bottles the poor woman had acquired. Her heart did go out to the Divination teacher even though they didn't always see eye to eye but sometimes her excursions were a bit 'much'. The divination tower was exactly where she had come from in her trek back to her living quarters. All she could think about at that point was taking a seat propping her feat up and delving into a nice cup of hot tea and a good read.

Upon entering her living quarters Minerva was taken aback by what stood on the desk of her room. Standing there in the middle of it with a beautifully curling ribbon was a full bouquet of blood red suckers. Upon seeing the token upon her desk she could not help but chuckle at the sight of them knowing full well who they came from. Over the years Minerva had grown accustomed to seeing a single rose sitting upon her desk from time to time but this this was not expected in the least.

Reaching for one of the suckers she plucked it from the bouquet and pulled the wrapper off allowing the sweet cherry flavor to dance in her mouth as memories from so long ago played in her mind.

_"You have an insatiable sweet tooth," spoke Minerva across the table to the young man who sat across from her. He had a poise about him that just drew a person in. Then there was the whole concept that he fit the bill of tall dark and handsome, what with slicked back and slightly long dark brown almost black hair, and then those piercing blue eyes that could make a girl melt it was simply impossible to resist. Nicholai was one of a kind._

"What do you mean?" he asked looking up from his work in surprise a solitary white stick coming from his mouth looking very much at home on his practically perfectly formed lips.

"The suckers," answered Minerva gesturing to the stick that was in his mouth before it moved ever so slightly, before Nicholai pulled it from it from his mouth. The other end of the stick was perfectly round and bright red as it glistened in the light.

"I suppose I do, it's why I fell so hard for you," spoke Nicholai softly as he leaned in closer to Minerva causing her heart to race a bit. A smile sparked across Nicholai's features almost as if he could hear her heart rate jump before his lips met hers briefly.

"We are supposed to be studying for our winter exams," answered Minerva a rose color reaching her cheeks.

"That we are," answered Nicholai quietly slipping his sucker into his mouth a gentle smile playing upon his lips as eyes drifted down to the book before him.

Minerva tried to pull her focus back to her work but her mind lingered a bit longer on those suckers of his and how Christmas was just around the corner. She had decided upon the perfect Christmas gift. She was going to get Nicholai a whole slew of cherry suckers, as that was the only flavor she ever saw him with. If she didn't know better Minerva would have suspected that he loved those suckers of his more than he did her.

With Nicholai everything had a point and a purpose, and there was certainly a point and purpose to his sending the bouquet of red cherry suckers. He was planning on visiting Hogwarts in the near future in accordance with the Slughorn Christmas party which hadn't happened in several years. It was the perfect time to be able to return to the castle and see Minerva once more. Considering that his visit was going to be all too brief he wanted to have fond memories of their time together at the forefront of her mind. It was exactly why a simple rose would not do, though he did have every intention of making sure that there was one on her desk just before he arrived at the castle.

Of all the things he could send Minerva the suckers were one of the best choices he could make as, out of all things he could send, they held the most memories.

_"What in Merlin's name is this?" asked Nicholai in surprise as he opened a bag that was filled with red suckers. All the pop's looking up at him as the clear plastic that encased them glistened a bit in the light._

"Merry Christmas," answered Minerva with a bright smile on her face. "I figured since you eat so many of those cherry suckers that you could do with a whole stash of them."

A whole stash of cherry suckers? If only Minerva knew. With a very dry swallow Nicholai smiled warmly not exposing his teeth as was customary for him.

"Thank you, I absolutely love it," he answered moving the bag to the side and kissing Minerva gently on the cheek, her smell intoxicating as ever. If only the bag had been full of blood pops, but really it was the thought that counted.

Thus, after kissing her he pulled one out and unwrapped it not certain of what cherry would taste like to him. It was mere fortune that the pop was rather bland to him it was most liken to a human placing a piece of cardboard in their mouth to suck on. The only difference was that it didn't feel as such in his mouth.

As Nicholai worked on the sucker he figured he might be able to fake his way through the batch as bland as they were, that was until the pressure in his head began to set in. He kept the cherry sucker in his mouth so as not to hurt Minerva's feelings as they talked but he realized that something in the sucker was not processing well for him.

In the end Nicholai had to excuse himself from his time with Minerva, cutting their last moments together in the castle, before Christmas break shorter than he liked. The head ache had become to much to bear and was not something he was eager to repeat. That night while Minerva slept, he carefully unwrapped and re-wrapped each cherry sucker, replacing them with a blood pops. He did not want to hurt her feelings over something that she meant to be a thoughtful gift nor was he ready to admit the truth of what he was to her. She was sixteen at the time and despite his undeniable feelings for Minerva he thought things would be over come the end of their seventh year at school.

It wasn't how things would end, they actually ended years after that Christmas, Nicholai had given up on hiding things and assumed that Minerva being the bright woman that she was had figured things out, and was content to remain with him. It was uncouth but he had fallen in love because she was the one woman who didn't fall all over him and want to be with him because of his being a vampire, she loved him and was with him for who he was as a person, not his natural attraction.

Sadly when the truth of it all did come out Nicholai was left alone with an imprint of Minerva on his heart, never able to forget her but respecting her decision to leave. He could not blame her for being afraid of what he was. To be honest if he were not a vampire he would have feared himself.


	2. The First of Many

As Nicholai sent off the single white rose he couldn't help the smile that came to his face. He was indeed looking forward to seeing Minerva. It quite honestly would not be that hard to sneak off and see her once more, after all, her smell was one he knew well and the halls of Hogwarts were all too familiar. It also helped that he had an open invitation to the school and several different areas of the school, which came with the invite, to be a professor from long ago.

Even at present the thought of being a professor at Hogwarts was odd. Yet when the offer came, it was such an honor that it could not have been refused and it wasn't. There had been rumor that the Defense Against the Dark Arts Professors had been meeting some rather sticky ends and thus he was chosen. He could not easily die for one, and for two having had several years to study magic there was little that could truly take him by surprise, so he was a logical choice for the position even if it was a bit odd.

_In approaching the school after being gone for so long Nicholai was somewhat surprised by the memories and smells that came back to him. There was one smell in particular that struck him and it was quite strong. The sheer magnitude of the smell negated the idea that it was just something that lingered over the years, and was supported by strong memories this was the smell of Minerva and it was recent._

A certain light danced in Nicholai's eyes as his feet followed the smell almost as if on instinct. There was somewhere else he should have been going to but that was long forgotten in interest of what was before him. Of all things he had not expected her to be there at Hogwarts still. It was no surprise that she would be invited to teach as she was a brilliant woman. At the same time Nicholai had half expected Minerva to have settled down with someone other than him and forgotten her time with a vampire like him, at least that is what he imagined from time to time. Though the whole idea pained him, it was what Minnie deserved. Yet, there she was just across a threshold that he was not certain of, reading a book. She always seemed to be reading.

With a careful step Nicholai found that the room she seated in was a public room and he was permitted access. With a few gentle strides he approached her and waited to see if she by any chance noticed his presence but when she ever so gently turned to the next page he knew that she had not noticed him.

"So what is it I'm interrupting this time Minerva? Nothing too important I hope," he spoke almost showing his fangs with the smile that was on his face. It was rare that something could make him as happy as all that, but Minerva was one of those people who could cause him to be in such a state.

His words caused her to jump in surprise, "Nicholai! What are you doing here?"

"Dumbeldore didn't tell you then?"

Nicholai took a seat near her taking in every aspect of the woman before him. The years had been kind to her, though they had left their mark, there were a few wrinkles on her face and her hair had grown darker, it was shorter as well. Though she had changed Minerva was still the same beautiful woman he had fallen in love with all those years ago. "I'm told your Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor met an unfortunate end and I was asked to take his place as a more durable model. I didn't know you were teaching here. I suppose that would make us co-workers then."

He waited a few moments for his words to sink in with Minerva. He assumed that his sudden appearance was a lot to take in. He knew that seeing Minnie sitting there before him was a lot to take in for him as well. He noted that there was no sign of a ring on her finger which in some way was good news because he would not have to act cordial to a beloved, but that was not something he needed to remark on. Once more his eyes landed upon her hair it was so short, just hanging past her shoulders. It had once been down to her waist. "You've changed your hair quite a bit."

The conversation continued on lightly until Minerva moved to leave, he could hear in her tone that something bothered her and he had to apologize.

"Minerva, I was meaning to tell you...I'm sorry I never told you about me when we were in school, but I honestly hadn't thought I would feel the need to stick around as long as I did. I didn't want you to have to find out like that... It's not fair of me not to tell people that should know." He said it very evenly and very calmly, but there was a sad sort of tilt to his smile. "I do hope you can forgive me."

Minerva's face flushed in response, "You are apologizing to me? I was the one who ran out on you! I don't know how you could forgive me," she had looked away from him focusing on anything but him, and how he had lightly captured her hand to stop her leaving just seconds prior.

"Of course I'm apologizing. Minnie, any animal facing a natural predator has the sense to run when it feels it has a good reason, there is nothing to forgive."

He was indeed a predator, he hadn't bitten a human in hundreds of years, but vampires were predators by nature and in most situations a human had every right to be horrified by them.

"I do wish you would have given me the chance to explain. I've been a part of the St. Mungos initiative to prevent vampires from attacking humans by supplying them with donated blood, and have been for..." He took a long moment to try and count the years, "Well since November 19th 1593." Nicholai gave a short laugh.

"How about this..." He snapped his fingers and a rose appeared in his hand, something he'd learned from years of studying "We both say we're sorry and both get on with it?"

Of course, though the past had been forgiven that day and Minerva accepted the first of many roses Nicholai would give her, things did not go back to just how they were between them. Minerva had done some of the bare bones math and it was just hardly fitting. The emotions between her and Nicholai were still there and hard to deny but it just wasn't right. There he was, several hundred years old, while she was the mere age of a child in comparison at the ripe age of 51. But that wasn't the only problem, there was the issue that Nicholai looked to be no older than a man in his early twenties, a woman her age had no business being with a man who from all appearances was more than half her age. It just was not proper, no matter how one looked at it thus through out the school year Minerva fought to keep her feelings at bay and keep things professional. Yet there were times when it was rather difficult to maintain her distance.

There had been an issue with a young mister Rosier and behavior which was typical for him, but this time it involved Nicholai and thus Minerva had to speak with him about it. She knew Nicholai was in the right and Evan Rosier had struck once more, but all the same there were procedures that had to be met, and Merlin knew that if she did not follow procedure Rosier would have created more problems than he was worth all for the sake of attention.

_It was early evening when Minerva knocked on the door to Nicholai's living quarters. It did not strike her how it was around the time when he would be resting as night was his natural time to be awake and he pushed through the day light hours to teach. Thus when the man came to the door he was lacking certain articles of clothing such as a shirt. It was something that Minerva was not expecting in the least causing the natural defenses that she had put up against Nicholai to start to crumble down around her. What had she come to say?_

Nicholai greeted her and asked what it was she needed but as the words stuck and caught in her throat Nicholai took it upon himself to invite her into his living quarters which was an odd mess of stacks of papers and books piled in various locations throughout the room. It was a mess and yet organized at the same time.

"I fear it is a bit crowded in here," apologized Nicholai as he offered a seat that he cleared out to Minerva. "I suppose I haven't quite figured out a system to organizing student papers along with keeping up with my personal studies."

Minerva payed the mess no mind taking a seat as she worked to regain her composure once more. This chance was only afforded to her with Nicholai having disappeared to don a shirt, as he realized he was without one. Though Minerva has seen him in much less it was best if he spoke with her fully clothed.

"Would you care for some tea?" asked Nicholai when he returned already having produced a tray with a pot and cup. Her favorite was being poured into a cup, and it was the smell of it that helped bring her back to her senses a bit.

"Yes, thank you," answered Minerva taking the cup that was offered her as she stared up at the same kind face that she had loved so many ears ago. There was a moment between the two as their eyes locked before Nicholai finally cleared his throat and turned to his desk opening a drawer and pulling out a red sucker and placing it in his mouth.

It was that simple act alone that caused memories to surface for Minerva, memories she had almost forgotten. "You never did have a sweet tooth did you?" asked Minerva quietly as she took a sip of her tea.

Nicholai leaned against the edge of his desk facing Minerva and shook his head the white stick protruding from his mouth as if it always belonged there. "Blood pops," he answered simply pulling the red pop from his mouth, "They tend to help when 'eating' isn't exactly an option."

Minerva nodded bringing the tea up up to her lips before letting it almost crash back down onto the saucer. "Oh, it must have been the most horrible gift I ever gave you, that year for Christmas!"

There was a small surprised look on Nicholai's face before the same memory came back to him. A warm chuckle issued forth from him with the blood pop once more secure in his mouth. "It was one of the most thoughtful things I had ever received even if it did cause me a great deal of pain."

"Pain?" asked Minerva looking up in surprise.

From there Nicholai explained what happened with the cherry suckers how they created a head-ache most akin to that of a hangover, minus the fun before hand, and how he had re-wrapped all of them so she wouldn't know the difference. From there conversation between the two continued on till late into the night as they relived many pleasant memories between the two of them. It was in that night that Minerva finally let her guard down and in some way Nicholai knew it but he waited, at least as long as he could.

He took a deep breath, dressed to the nines despite it being nearly 10:30 at night, and pacing in his room. No matter what he tired his mind would not leave well enough alone, every thought was on Minerva.

"Oh bloody hell." He shook himself mentally and walked straight out the door, turned down a short series of halls and wound up outside of Minnie's office. He brushed a hand through his hair and knocked, waiting for the door to swing open. When it did, he did what had been jumping around his head all day, stepped right into the room and pulled her up to him, and without even hesitating kissed her.

"You've no idea how long it's been, since I've wanted to do that."

"Oh bullocks!" came Minerva's response which is not what one would expect as a response, but it worked all the same as she moved in to kiss Nicholai a second time. She had fought against him long enough and there was no denying that the feelings were still there and were not going to go away. The door closed behind the two as Minerva whispered, "You don't know how much I've missed this."


	3. Savor the Moment

To say that Nicholai was looking forward to going to Hogwarts was an understament. If he were any other man he would have had trouble keeping still in his joy of being able to go to Hogwarts once more and see Minerva. The only problem was that he did not expect to be met by Eldred Worple, one of the few people he could truly say he had the misfortune of meeting. He was a man who got the idea that it would be good to spend time living among vampires for the sake of a book. Being a vampire Nicholai knew what his kind were like. He was one of very few who never took it upon himself to drink from a human. He had not bitten a person in nearly four hundred years. Of course convincing Worple of this was impossible.

There were times where Nicholai wondered if it would have been better to allow the other vampires to have their way with him. He was a very short sighted and narrow man already having a preconceived notion of what vampires were like and refusing to accept that there were a few, as he was, refusing to take blood from humans and ascribing to using blood pops and donated blood collected at St. Mungos. Of course, if it weren't for him and his dislike of feeding on humans to protect him Worple would be dead or turned himself. Thus, when he saw him beaming from across the room Nicholai had to work to keep his demeanor calm and composed. What was the name that he had used all those years ago?

"Sanguini!" called the man. Yes, that was the name, how could Nicholai have forgotten? Nicholai nodded his head to the man knowing that this was the reason that he had been invited and that the man was going to hang onto him like a leach. He was Worple's one claim to fame it was his way of saying 'I'm important.'

"It is nice to see you once more," greeted Nicholai with a small smile that was produced out of pleasantry alone.

"Yes, yes good to see you here," answered the man waving aside pleasantries as if they were not of much value which always irked Nicholai. He had been born in an older time where pleasantries were more expected than in the present but they but it did not take too much to offer at any era of time.

"I hope you won't be looking for a snack Sanguini. It wouldn't do well to feast on a young girl while here," spoke Worple as he turned to greet another guest. Nicholai let out a patient sigh and hoped that he would not be detained for too long into the night, he knew he needed to make an appearance at the party as it was polite but his nerves just demanded that he go seek out Minerva. He could catch hints of her smell, even from where he was which was filled with the smell of cigars and crystallized pineapples. Of course the smell would have been very faint to most humans, but it was a bit of an affront to his nose as a vampire. Yet, Nicholai didn't say anything, and he continued not to say anything for the entire night as Worple continued to jabber on relentlessly looking to proctor a new writing business deal and brag about his work with Sanguini which wasn't much at all as it was luck and Nicholai's doing that he just managed to survive.

The night seemed to wear on, and though Nicholai, through years of living, had an extra dose of patience, was finding his beginning to wear thin. Thus, when Worple began to try to work a deal with Harry Potter, Nicholai tried to take the opportunity to slip away to see Minerva, he had hoped that Worple was thoroughly distracted by attempting to sink his claws into the boy. As he edged away he was commanded to stay and mistaken for wanting to go after the girls who stood nearby. Nicholai was used to the attention he would sometimes receive that he began to hardly notice, it was being ignored that he noticed first and it was what had first drawn him to Minerva. Oh, how he longed for her, but there he was holding a pasty that was forced on him by Worple. The man clearly had learned nothing from his time with Vampires. If a Cherry sucker gave him a splitting headache Nicholai didn't want to try another regular food. He could pretend at times when the need called for it but he tended to stick with bland food and meats as they had little affect or were reminiscent of the blood he consumed.

When the exchange between Worple and Harry Potter ended Nicholai leaned down and forward and spoke softly into his ear. "You and I need to talk," he spoke softly but sternly his tone indicating that he was not going to take no for an answer. Nicholai grasped the man's elbow with his pasty free hand to lead him quietly away to give additional point to his words.

Once they were in a corner somewhat alone Nicholai decided to make his opinions expressly clear to Wrople. "I have had quite enough of this party Worple and will not partake anymore," began Nicholai raising his pasty free hand to keep the short man from speaking, as his open mouth indicated he wanted to do. "I will no longer play the part of a prop to your 'wonderful' story telling. I'm quite sure that you can manage on your own for the rest of the night and make the proper excuses for me as necessary, considering you are rather skilled at writing works of fiction. And, do not worry I do not intend to have a 'snack' as you so crudely put it. People are not as pastries to me, I have more class than that, and have not bitten a human in centuries," with those words Nicholai firmly placed the pasty that was in his hand into Worple's.

"Thank you for having me join you in this lovely evening," the sarcasm intended for his words was not heard in the slightest as he turned to walk away, slipping down a hall to do what he had come to do in the first place.

Nicholai's feet carried him knowing the path all too well, there was little thought and there was not a single hitch in making his way to Minerva's quarters where she was no doubt reading and enjoying a tea before bed, as was her usual custom. He rapped gently on the door and waited for her to answer. What was only a few moments seemed like an eternity for the vampire. It seemed even then, that a short time could still span on for eons while decades in his life could go by in the blink of an eye.

The door did finally open to reveal a very surprised Minerva, just as beautiful as the first day they met. Her hair had grown darker and was not so red and there were a great many more gray hairs on her head than when they last met, but she was still his Minerva. No amount of time and aging could change that for Nicholai. Her hair was down and flowing longer than last time almost to the long length she had it when they were younger, and placed between her lips was a solitary white stick, the calling card of one of the cherry suckers that he had given her.

"Nicholai," breathed Minerva as she stared at him in awe almost as if he had walked straight out of some dream.

"Hello, Minnie," spoke Nicholai softly a smile that never showed his teeth playing upon his lips, "May I come in?"

With his question the daze that surrounded Minerva McGonagall lifted, and she invited him in pulling the cherry sucker from her mouth, the red crystallized candy glistening in the low lights. Minerva stumbled over her words some expressing her surprise over his presence there, and explained that she had been reading through old letters and journal entries she had made from her time together. Nicholai glanced down at one of the papers remembering the time that it came from before turning to Minerva, and doing what he had longed to do all night, he took her up in his arms and kissed her.

The sucker that was in Minerva's hand fell to the floor forgotten as she lost herself in Nicholai's embrace. As Nicholai kissed Minerva there was a faint taste of a cherry sucker, something that he had not tasted since all those years ago, but this time instead of tasting bland and terrible it actually tasted sweet.


End file.
